Corbin effective in Houston, but Nats can't take advantage (updated)

HOUSTON – Minute Maid Park has always been kind to Patrick Corbin, and we’re not just talking about Game 7 of the 2019 World Series here.

While that epic, three-inning relief appearance may have represented the pinnacle of the left-hander’s career and proved essential to the Nationals’ championship victory that night, Corbin has enjoyed pitching in this supposedly hitter-friendly park for years.

When he took the mound for the bottom of the fifth tonight, Corbin was the proud owner of a 16 2/3-inning scoreless streak at the home of the Astros. He hadn’t surrendered a run here since Aug. 18, 2012 as a rookie with the Diamondbacks.

This place, for whatever reason, just brings out the best in him.

Then Corbin began pitching the bottom of the fifth, at which point the streak ended, the Astros reminded him just how powerful they still are and the Nationals reminded everyone how much has changed since the night of Oct. 30, 2019.

In their first Houston appearance in nearly four years, the Nats lost, 6-1, unable to mount enough offense to overcome the two homers Corbin surrendered in the fifth (or the two tack-on runs Chad Kuhl allowed in the seventh, or the additional two tack-on runs Thaddeus Ward allowed in the eighth).

"It was pretty cool going back out there, sitting in the same chair from Game 7," manager Davey Martinez said. "It's always fun to come here. The fans are great. It's loud. It's electric. Overall, other than the hitting portion and not driving in runs, I thought we played pretty well."

The result couldn’t be considered a surprise by anyone who has paid even casual attention to both franchises, the Astros still making annual appearances in October and winning the 2022 World Series under Dusty Baker, the Nationals knee-deep in a franchise rebuild that stripped the 2019 roster of all but a handful of parts.

Corbin, of course, is the most noteworthy remaining piece of the championship roster. He has been a shell of the guy who tossed three scoreless innings in relief of Max Scherzer with the season on the line, but he did tonight what he’s done more regularly this year than any previous year since 2019: He gave his team a chance.

Despite some obvious command woes, leading to a season-high five walks issued, Corbin kept Houston from scoring through his first four frames. He had to wriggle his way out of several jams to do it, but he delivered when he needed to and entered the fifth hoping to keep it going.

"They had some good at-bats, laid off some tough pitches," the lefty said. "Kind of a veteran lineup there, most of those guys. I'm not trying to walk those guys, but I felt like I was around the plate enough."

But then came Mauricio Dubón’s leadoff homer on a changeup (one of only seven Corbin threw in the game). And three batters later came Kyle Tucker’s solo blast to right on a 92-mph fastball.

"It was supposed to be a four-seamer away," Corbin said of the pitch to Tucker. "Missed it by three feet. That was right where he likes it. The one pitch I'd like to have back."

Martinez would pull his starter after that inning ended, his pitch count at 91 (only 49 strikes). It was far from a masterpiece, but like many of Corbin’s other starts this season, it was far from awful.

Corbin’s start might’ve been viewed in a more positive light had his teammates simply supplied him with some run support, taking him off the hook for a loss. It’s not the lefty’s fault, of course, but the lack of clutch hitting by the Nationals lineup was palpable.

The Nats put at least one runner on base in five of the first six innings against Astros right-hander Hunter Brown but emerged with nothing to show for it. They grounded into three double plays, with Luis García, Corey Dickerson and Joey Meneses doing the honors. Jeimer Candelario also was caught trying to steal second.

The most cringe-worthy sequence, though, came in the top of the third, after Dominic Smith had singled and CJ Abrams had doubled to create the best scoring opportunity of the night. How did the Nationals fail to score out of that situation? By watching Alex Call pop up a safety squeeze attempt, Lane Thomas strike out on a curveball in the dirt and Garcia ground out weakly to first.

"Not competitive," Martinez said when asked about the at-bats during that sequence. "I think Lane took a fastball there that he should've pulled the trigger on. We had the safety squeeze on with Call; he pops the ball up right there. If he bunts it down to first base, we get a run right there. Then a groundball by Luis to end the inning. We've got to grind at-bats. We've got to at least get one run in right there, just to take the lead."

The Call bunt, on a 1-1 pitch with the slow-footed Dominic Smith hoping to score from third, was the biggest head-scratcher of the night. Martinez signaled for it, believing Smith would score easily if his No. 9 hitter could execute as intended.

"We do our due diligence before the games," Martinez said. "We saw where Abreu was playing. All you've got to do is bunt the ball down the first base line. He's not going to get Dom."

"It never feels good," Call said. "I want to help the team any way I can. That was what I was called on to do, and I didn't execute. We'll get it the next time."

There was a close call in the seventh, when Smith launched a pitch 414 feet to center field, only to have it hauled in at the wall by Jake Meyers for an exceptionally frustrating out.

The Nats did finally get on the board in the eighth, when Thomas delivered a two-out double and García followed with an RBI single off reliever Bryan Abreu. That’s as close as they got tonight, though. In their long-awaited return to Houston, Corbin may have channeled some version of his 2019 self, but the rest of the Nationals did not.

"To win a world championship is very hard in this league," Corbin said. "Hopefully the guys in this clubhouse have a chance to experience that."